Let's go deeper.
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16 games in a season.
6 games are divisional opponents (3 home, 3 away)
4 games against division in conference (@IND, @HOU, vsTEN, vs JAC)
4 games against division out of conference (vsSF, @STL, vsARI, @SEA)
That's 14 opponents that were decided years ago.
Only 2 games were scheduled based on last year's schedule. Since the Chiefs are playing all the AFC South, they get one game against the AFC North and AFC East team that finished in the same place, in this case 4th.
So that's why the Chiefs have @CLE, vsBUF.
Meanwhile the Chargers have the first 14 common opponents, but are playing Cincinnati and New England.
(Which is the reason why it seems like New England and Indy play every year. It's automatic once ever three years, and the other two years they would be paired up if they both finished first.)
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So, obviously, you'd rather play the Browns and Bills than the Bengals and Patriots. And yes, you'd rather play the NFC West than the NFC East (which the Chiefs did last year.) So the 2010 opponents are about as easy as it gets in the NFL. But compared to the Chargers who finished 13-3 last year, (Chiefs 4-12) they only have 2 different opponents.
In 2009, the NFC West was paired up with the AFC South. The Colts went 14-2, but the next best team was the 9-7 Texans that missed the playoffs.
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But let's go deeper.
Are opponents the only factor in determining a difficult schedule?
There are 4 factors that I've identified off the top of my head, and I'm sure there are more.
1. Home and road designations of the 10 games outside your own division
2. Playing on short rest, facing opponents on short rest
3. Playing after bye week, facing opponents after their bye week
4. Rare situations where you lose a home game (England, Toronto, Katrina, etc.)
Let's go one by one.
1. The first one is tricky because it's hard to say whether it's a plus or a minus until after the game. For example, facing the Browns at Cleveland. Since the Chiefs won by 2, it was great that it was a road game. But what about the Chiefs on the road at Indy. Is it bad because if it was a home game, the Chiefs would have a better shot. Or is it a good thing because the Chiefs would lose to the Colts either way, so might as well have it be on the road. And what about hosting the 49ers, it's hard to say, if the Chiefs won have won that game if it was in SF, but we don't know.
About the only definitive thing I could say is that of the NFC West teams, I wish that we were hosting the Seahawks, but who knows, maybe we could win on Qwest Field anyways.
2. Playing on short rest is more definitive. This year, every Chiefs' game is on Sunday. So they're never playing on short rest. But they faced the 49ers after a MNF game, and will face the Jaguars after a MNF game as well.
3. Who you face after the bye week seems like it would matter, but again hard to predict. This year the Chiefs have 2 weeks to prepare to play the Colts. If they win, you could credit the extra prep. But if they lose, that extra prep would have been better spent anywhere else.
However it easier to see how many times you face an opponent coming off the bye week. This year, it's balanced that the Chiefs only play the Broncos coming off their bye. This is a game in Denver and would be a tough game regardless.
4. This year the Bills are hosting the Bears in Toronto, and the 49ers are "hosting" the Broncos in London, so Buffalo and San Fran are effectively playing 7 home games, 8 road games, and 1 neutral game. (I'm not convinced that the people of Toronto will back the Bills that much more over a Chicago team. Plus, home field is about being comfortable, staying at home, not just the fans.)
So the point of all this?
Yes, of course, the Chiefs schedule is easy.
But also, that there's more to the schedule than just opponents. If I had 5 more hours to devote to this, I could go team-by-team, and see who's playing or facing opponents on short rest, and who's facing teams coming off their bye, but I'm not going to go that deep.
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Let's go deeper
I went back and looked at the Chiefs' schedule in 2003, when they went 13-3. Let's take a look at the final conference records for 2003.
Based on the AFC standings, ideally you'd want to play the AFC North. And in the NFC, the North looks the weakest here too. And that's exactly who the 03 Chiefs faced, along with Houston and Buffalo. (But look at those Chiefs' touchdowns and net points!)
I've never said that the schedule is not important.
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